Slowtrain

Perhaps he has become solar-powered?

On the flip-side though, speaking of generic box art, the original box art for PS:T was far from generic yet has recieved considerable blame over the years for negatively affecting the sales numbers of the game. So maybe, the generic and safe route is best.

Where do I get one of those?

Speaking only for myself: generic, in this case, refers to the fact that the figure could be placed on boxes for other games, without any significance or loss of significance. It's simply a "guy with a gun" much like a generic roll of toiler paper is "a roll of toilet paper".

I've had an account there for years and I don't think it has a single post. And the account I had before that, which got booted in the pre-Oblivion board redo, probably had about 5 posts. And those were the good days.

I can definitely agree with that. Lose the guy and it would be pretty awesome with just the Vegas strip in the distance and the great logo. I see that as well. I guess that guy is bit too generic, maybe?

I would say it's typical of the Beth forums. WHich isn't a flame, just an observation on how they prefer their posting activity to be. It's also why I rarely go there. Again, no flame or anything, just an observation. They make their choices and its their right to do so.

For you maybe. A STALKER a day keeps the doctor away! Doc Morbid, that is.

I see your point. And don't actually disagree with it. I think I'm simply enamored of the fact that it's not a dude in Power Armor toting a plasma rifle. Six shooters and leather armor ftw! It also looks a lot like STALKER with the gas mask and armor. Which bodes well for the game!

WHen you're a subcontractor you take what you can get. WHich in this case is cash. Hopefully, gobs of it.

I totally understand your point, but if I am going to have to sign up for accounts and be connected to the internet all the time just to play the game anyway, I might as well just buy it through the publisher's on-line store to begin with.

Science came to my mind. And on that note, the skill with orbilaser could (should?) affect the accuracy (the ability set the coordinates correctly) and amount of uses/day. I can Imagine a situation where one is aiding a group on mission to seize a "spot X". He sets the "spot" as a target to burn the enemies behind the covers and whoops the laser goes 100 meters aside from the target and scorches all/half the allies - and because the skill is low there is no second try (not being able program/what ever a booster for the recharger) until tomorrow, and then it's too late already. Power comes with risks. Science, surely? Or what about pure Luck? Why not. Science is good. Makes sense. Actually giving a weapon like this to the science skill makes a science-boy build much more useful. Nowe that I'm thinking about it, this would be a pretty good way to balance skills. I like the box art as well. I favor the low-tech end of things and it would be great of NV does more on the low-tech side than the high tech side.

*shrug* Personally, I don't have a problem with its "obviousness". That's cool. Sometimes it's fine. In large doses it's usually boring. On a unrelated note, why is the orbital laser platform nukerblaster an Energy Weapon skill? I mean, its not like the pc is carrying it around on his/her shoulder pointing it raiders. I imagine the pc just pushes a button or flips a toggle or connects a dongle. Shouldn't using that device be a repair-based skill? Or maybe explosives. Though it doesn't explode of course. But it requires technowizardry not a well-trained trigger finger and a keen eye.

That is definitely a possiblity. But think how much money publishers could save if they could simply get rid of the hardcopy game for good. Nevermind not having to split with the retailers or deal with returns. There would be no more inventory to deal with. No subcontracting for packaging. No more box art and design to deal with. No manuals to print. No worries about too many pressec copies (or to few). No storage issues. It would be a huge money saver. Given publishers huge focus on the bottom line, I'm sure they are licking their chops and counting down the days when all the hardcopy headachesa are no more.

Hmmm. A lethal bounty hunter named Roulette. A stray dog named Chip. A bumbling merc named Craps. A self-aggrandizing Giant Panda named Johnnybottoms. Seems too obvious, don't it?

That was a good pne. Twattycakes. Awesome. Bethesda take note.

I don't really see that ever being the case, unless they figure out some way to get super high speed internet to pretty much everyone. I agree that it will be marginalized eventually, but I think we will always have a presence in stores. Music would probably be the first to make the fully digital transition, as a song is a relatively small amount of data and can be downloaded faster than movies or games. But I think there will always be a market for CD's, even if it shrinks considerably. I totally agree that there will most likely be those outside the range of high speed internet for a while still. However, at some point, it won't be financilally worthwhile for publishers to print up and ship a small number of hardcopy games just for those folks. I'm not sayiong iot will happen tomorrow, but within a few years I expect it will be no longer possible to purchase hardcopy games. Music, I think is a little different in that there will always be "audiophiles" who insist on having a piece of music on a piece of plastic. I've never met any "gameophiles" who insist games plays better out of the box then when downloaded. lol. Although I'm sure there are a few.

Absolutely. The gameworld context is vitally important to how valid the role of humor is. And given the setting there is perhaps more room for wacky humor than might be available elsewhere. If the humor doesn't make me roll my eyes and shake my head when I encounter it, but rather I just accept it as part of the world, then it worked. Which will be great and I'll have no complaints.

You're probably right. Around where I live brick and mortar record and book stores are pretty much all gone. Crunched out-of-buisness-by both online DLing and on-line shopping. Some of the big chains are hanging in, but they can afford to provide additional services beyond straight retail. So it's probably inevitable that dedicated video retail are all ready looking at their last days. It seems rather silly of them to just agree with whatever schemes publishers come up with though. They should be fighting to keep as much control out of the publisher's hands as possible, just to ensure their own survival. Maybe there just isn't really a choice. Anyway, I don't think its going to be too long until hardcopy games aren't even made anymore. AT this point Best Buy and Wal Mart simply won't have anything to sell. WHich frankly isn't a bad thing. Wal Mart all ready has way too much power over the entertainment industries. Nopt having to depend on getting shelf space from them would probably be an overall good thing for games.

Nope. That's whay I said I'm only a little concerned. Without the context of the game to see how it all plays out it's impossible to know to what degree adn how much the humor and silliness will play a part. But there is a substantial amount of of apparent humor attempts in much of what has been seen. Is it too much? Too little? Just right? Successful? Not successful? Can't say at this point. There will obviously be some humor, much of it goofy. My personal hope though is thatt he bulk of the game will be played straight and humor will be incidental rather than excessively staged.

I generally agree. Although "over-the-top" is a concept that needs delicate handling lest it become insipid. Restraint is usually the best bet.

It may very well be, and without the context we can't really know. I'm just picking up the strong stink of grade-z attempts at humor from this game. If it's just a bit of "humor", used sparingly, in the background, then it will be fine. But a little of that sort of thing goes a long way. I freely admit it is a personal bias: I'm not a big fan of "comedy" games and I am really not a fan of bad-comedy games. I much prefer an attempt to play it as a serious story/world, even if they attempt fails at times. A bit of humor here and there is fine.

Yep. Pretty pathetic, ain't it. Game developers should leave the "funny" names to Pynchon and Barthelme and just play it straight. Better for everyone.

Couldn't agree more. Like 1000%. It is absolutely a test to see how far gamers can be pushed. And I'll tell you right now, gamers are not, as a group, the most savy consumers on the planet. Lemmings is a better word, I think. Publishers know this, and now the technology is now in place to really exploit the heck out of it. It's coming. The MMORPG model will be applied to all games. Games will no longer be a product that is bought once and used; they will be a service that is subscribed to and paid for on a recurring basis. The ironic thing is that games today are so weak compared to 5 years ago, that there is little motivation to play them. And what the retail stores don't get is that they are living on borrowed time. As soon as the publisher controlled content becomes accepted and embraced by the consumer, BOOM!, the retail stores are going to get cut out and die. Publishers aren't sharing their cash with anyone they don't have to. But for the moment, they need the retail stores to enable the transition.

Indeed.